


Baby Talk

by storywriter55



Series: Milestones [1]
Category: White Collar (TV 2009)
Genre: Baby's first words, Gen, Leaving past behind, Moving On
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:49:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28641750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storywriter55/pseuds/storywriter55
Summary: Neal and Sara move into their new home all the while waiting impatiently for Hope’s first word. Part of the Milestones series (11 months).
Relationships: Neal Caffrey/Sara Ellis
Series: Milestones [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/80614
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Baby Talk

It was early March and yet spring still seemed months away. The last week had brought another snowstorm and New Yorkers were fed up with winter and growing eager for it all to end. It was also moving day for the Caffreys as they finally left the cozy comfort of their loft in June Ellington’s majestic home to settle into a place of their own.

It had taken over nine months, three realtors and thirty-eight houses to find _the_ perfect home for Neal, Sara and their daughter Hope. Ever since their wedding, eight months earlier, the newlyweds had been relentless in their search for a place to call home and frankly, they’d begun to think they would never succeed. They had visited homes in all five boroughs before finally deciding on a cute little three bedroom house in the Prospect Park neighbourhood of White Plains, New York. It was a far cry from the life they loved in the heart of the city but they had outgrown the place months ago and suburbia seemed like the next logical step for their busy family. 

Neal had insisted on a big, fully functional kitchen and as the main cook in the family, Sara certainly couldn’t begrudge him that. Sara’s priorities included a place that was a short drive to the train into Manhattan where she continued to work as a badass insurance investigator for Sterling Bosch Insurance.

So, here they were in Neal’s loft at June’s on a cold Saturday morning, surrounded by boxes and stacks of furniture as they tried to manoeuvre to get breakfast ready – nothing complicated, just toast and juice.

‘Dadadadada’ Hope chanted from her high chair.

‘Neal, will you put some juice in her sippy cup, please’ called Sara from the back of the apartment.

‘Yeah, just a sec’ Neal called back as he finished taping up a box containing some of his art books.

‘Gksileislllllliii’ shrieked Hope, growing impatient.

‘All right, all right, baby girl, take it easy’ her daddy said as he walked over and took a seat next to her high chair.

‘What do you want sweet pea? You want some juice? Say ‘juice’ he said, coaxing her.

‘Ja’ she replied.

‘Juice’ he repeated, as he held her cup hostage.

The eleven-month-old stared back at her dad and began whining. She’d been making lots of interesting sounds over the past few months and Neal and Sara were looking forward to her first official word. They had been diligent about doing all the right things to stimulate their daughter’s language — reading books, pointing to things and naming them, having her repeat sounds, encouraging her — but Hope was stubborn and she’d yet to utter her first proper word.

Neal had been reading plenty of books on child development and he knew that the first word ‘with intent’ was the word a baby would speak spontaneously, knowing full well its meaning.As the stay-at-home parent in the family, he’d been working hard to get her to say that first word, hoping to surprise his wife with the word ‘Mama’. She would repeat it all day long at Neal’s request, pointing to the door where her mom had disappeared and Neal would clap his hands in encouragement and yet, to his dismay, when Sara came home, she would clam up and refuse to say it.

‘Sara!’ Neal called out from the kitchen. ’I have to leave to pick up the moving van.’

‘Be right there’ she shouted, sounding rather frazzled.

‘Mommy’s coming’ Neal whispered to his daughter. ‘When she gets here, I want you to say ‘Mama, Mama!’'

Hope stared blankly at her dad as if he were crazy and took another sip of juice.

‘C’mon Hope, you can do it. Mama! Mama’s coming.’

‘Gioopskilkk’ said Hope, reaching for a piece of toast and attempting to shove the whole thing into her mouth.

Neal stared back, disheartened. ‘Fine’ he mumbled as he got to his feet. ‘Never mind.’

‘What’s going on?’ said Sara, coming into the room.

‘Nothing, she’s just being… whiny’ he replied as he prepared to leave.

He picked up a large box and manoeuvred his way to the door, stepping over toys and boxes littering the floor.

’Mozzie and Peter should be here any minute. Make sure they start with those heavy boxes over there’ he said, pointing to the bedroom area.

‘Got it’ Sara said, making her way to join the baby at the kitchen table.

‘Hello angel’ she cooed as she grazed her daughter’s cheek. ‘Don’t mind Daddy and me… things are just crazy today.’

‘Day’ Hope repeated with a giggle.

‘That’s right’ she said, checking over her shoulder to make sure Neal was out of sight. ‘Now that Daddy’s gone, we can keep working on our little surprise for him. Can you say ‘Poppa, poppa.’

‘Poppa, poppa’ the baby repeated as she clapped her hands gleefully.

‘Good job sweetie! When Daddy comes back from getting the truck, you can say ‘hello Poppa!’

The door swung open, causing a ruckus as a box was knocked over and Peter appeared, dressed in his best moving clothes.

‘Hi!’ he called out. ‘I bumped into Neal on the stairs. He said to start with the bedroom boxes?’

His eyes landed on his goddaughter, the apple of his eye.

‘Hello pumpkin’ he cooed as he came up to Hope and kissed the top of her head.

She shrieked with joy at the sight of the man who spoiled her rotten. She began gurgling, kicking her legs and putting out her arms to be picked up. Sara sighed and did a mental eye roll; those two were members of a very exclusive mutual admiration society. 

‘I brought you something special for moving day’ he said bringing his hand out from behind his back to reveal a stuffed toy, a pink elephant.

Hope’s eyes lit up at the sight of the gift, giggling loudly and clapping her hands with glee as she reached out to take it. Peter looked on, pleased with himself.

‘El’s really sorry she couldn’t take Hope off your hands’ he said, picking the child up and holding her in his arms. ‘She had completely forgotten your moving date when she agreed to cater this luncheon.’

‘That’s okay’ Sara said as she tidied up. ‘Hope and I are going to head over to the new place and get everything organized. The cable guy and the furniture store are coming by later this morning.’

She took her daughter from his arms and pointed to a corner of the apartment. ’Oh, Peter, that surprise for Neal… it’s over there. Do you think you can get it over to the house without him seeing it?’

‘Why don’t I just take it down to your car before he gets back’ he suggested, stepping through a maze of boxes in order to get to it.

Another commotion at the door as Mozzie arrived, right on cue. ’Moving when there’s snow on the ground should be illegal’ he mumbled as he stepped in.

Sara began to collect some essentials for the trek out to White Plains.

’Look guys, I’m leaving in a minute and I’m taking Hope so I suggest you start bringing stuff downstairs. Neal should be back with the truck any time now’ she said as she grabbed Hope’s diaper bag and stuffed a few toys and books in her oversized purse.

Peter followed her down to the street and placed the surprise for Neal in the back seat of the car, strapping Hope into her car seat and tickling her as she squealed madly. Her new toy slipped out of her grasp and he reached for it, placing it in her arms.

‘Don’t forget your elephant’ he said with one last kiss to her soft baby hair.

Sara was about to pull away when the sound of honking was heard and they all looked up to see Neal returning at the helm of a rent a truck.

‘There’s Poppa’ she said as she waved to him. ‘Say ‘hi poppa’.

Crickets as Hope sat there cuddling her new toy.

WCWCWC

Once at the new house, there was an ongoing parade of deliveries and workmen. Furniture was delivered and placed in the various rooms of the house, cable was installed (even before the new television was delivered), the phone company came by and even a neighbour showed up to welcome the new family to the neighbourhood with a warm inviting casserole of mac and cheese. By lunchtime, Hope was ready for a nap and Sara lay her down on the new couch while she began to put away the dishes they had brought over the day before.

Back on Riverside Drive, there was a constant buzz of activity as Jones joined the fray and the four men climbed up and down the stairs, loaded up with the totality of the Ellis-Caffrey’s belongings.

‘Ouch’ yelled Mozzie as he rounded the corner, carrying a particularly heavy box. 

‘What now, Moz?’ asked Neal.

‘I caught my baby finger’ he whined as he continued out the door towards the van.

Neal stifled an eye roll; as far as manual labour was concerned, Mozzie wasn’t exactly top of his class.

Despite the fact that Neal hadn’t had much when he’d first moved into June’s five years earlier, he’d managed to accumulate a fair bit of stuff, including all his art paraphernalia and even more importantly, since Sara and Hope’s arrival, all their things including toys galore, baby accessories and both their seemingly limitless wardrobes.

As the boxes disappeared one by one, Neal could feel himself growing nostalgic. He’d had an amazing time sharing June Ellington’s home and even though there was excitement at starting their family life in a new place, there was sadness at leaving his old life behind. June’s mansion was the only home he’d know since his release from prison and there were so many happy memories associated within these walls. He wandered to the dressing room, checking for any boxes left behind and as he prepared to step back into the main room, he took one last detour to the newest room in the apartment: the bedroom June had insisted on adding just before Hope was born. For weeks, they’d kept newborn Hope next to their bed and after a while, Sara had convinced him they would all sleep better if Hope slept in her own bed, in her own beautifully appointed room. He stepped into the empty space, his eyes drawn to the mural which covered the whole back wall. He felt his breath stutter at the sight of it and the memory of the first night he and Sara had lay their daughter in her crib, watching her sleep forever before finally walking away.

‘There you are’ Peter said as he stepped into the room. ‘I wondered where you’d got to.'

Neal startled. He’d been deep in thought, memories popping up one after the other.

‘June promised me that as long as she lives here, she would never paint over it’ Neal said, his voice muted.

‘It’s gorgeous’ Peter commented, setting down the box he’d been carrying.

‘It was a labour of love.’

‘I remember it took you months to finish it’ Peter said, stepping back to get a better look.

‘Five months to be exact’ Neal said, his eyes glued to his masterpiece. ‘I used to sneak in here after Sara fell asleep and work on it for a couple of hours before going to bed.’

‘It’s too bad you can’t take it with you’ Peter said, placing his hand on his best friend’s shoulder and giving a firm squeeze.

Neal shrugged. ‘I guess I can always come over for a visit’ he replied with a grin, doing his best to cover the emotions seeping into his voice.

The moment passed and Neal seemed to snap back to reality. ‘Is the truck all loaded up?’

Peter picked up the box he’d set down earlier. ‘Last box!’ he declared.

WCWCWC

One last walk around the loft and Neal headed downstairs to find June standing there with a bottle of bubbly in her hands.

‘All done?’ she asked.

She was doing her best to keep the emotion out of her voice but Neal wasn’t fooled in the least.

‘Don’t forget you’re coming over to our place for dinner next Sunday’ he said, surprising himself with the words.

‘I wouldn’t miss it’ she replied. ‘This is for you and Sara. Maybe tonight after you finish unpacking you can sit back and enjoy it.’

‘Veuve Cliquot!’ Neal exclaimed. ‘June, you shouldn’t have.’

She smiled and shook her head self deprecatingly. ‘Just promise me you’ll take good care of my little darling’ she said.

This time, she was unable to keep the emotion from bubbling to the surface and Neal reached out to take her in his arms.

‘June...’ he murmured in her ear. ‘You were the first one to take a chance on me and I’ll always be grateful to you for everything you’ve done.’

She pulled away and wiped her eyes. ‘You have no idea what it’s meant to me having you live here.’

‘I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t taken me in’ Neal said, eyes filling with tears.

‘Oh, nonsense, you would have landed on both feet, I know it’ she said.

Neal shrugged. ’Maybe.... but it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun as it’s been’ he said with a final hug.

He turned away and headed for the door, forcing himself to keep his eyes forward. There was no sense in looking back. His new life was waiting for him, a few miles northeast of where he stood. And there, waiting for him was his wife and his daughter, the apple of his eye.

WCWCWC

Back on Meadowbrook Street, the house was slowly beginning to look like a home. As familiar items began arriving, Sara placed them in the appropriate rooms making the house feel more homey.

The van arrived and the four men brought in the rest of the furniture and dozens of boxes from Riverside Drive as Neal and Sara began placing them in their respective rooms. It was almost dinner time and everyone was tired and hungry. Sara called what was about to become their local pizza place and ordered a few pies as the group assembled in the family room to enjoy their very first meal in the Caffrey home. By seven o’clock, the helpers were gone and Hope began to whine, ready for bed.

Sara picked her up and held her. ‘You want to help me tuck her in?’ she asked her husband who sat there, feet up on the couch as he sipped on a beer.

He frowned.

‘I have a surprise for you’ she added enticingly.

That was enough to pique his curiosity and Neal got to his feet and followed his wife up the stairs and down the hall to Hope’s new room.

Although her crib had been set up, ready for their daughter’s first night, boxes still littered the floor waiting for unpacking in the morning. Sara walked over, setting Hope down in her crib as Neal glanced around and sighed. There was still so much to do.

His eyes settled on a beautifully framed photograph which had been lovingly hung over the crib; a reproduction of the mural he had sadly left behind at June’s place.

‘What?’ he said as he examined it. ‘When did you do this?'

Sara stepped back, lacing her arm in his. ’You didn’t think I’d ever let Hope forget it, did you?’

The day had been a seesaw of emotions and Neal felt his throat tighten. ‘I can’t believe you did this.’

They stood for a moment, arms around each other, admiring the print, exhausted but happy to finally be in their new home. 

Hope, meanwhile, grabbed onto the side of her crib and pulled herself up, arms out and reaching for something that was just out of sight.

‘Mama, poppa, ef-fant!’ she cried out as clear as can be.

Her parents stared at each other, puzzled.

‘Ef-fant!’ she shrieked, pointing to her new stuffed toy, lying on the nearby chair.

And so, Neal and Sara learned a lesson that would last them a lifetime: Hope Ellis-Caffrey could never be forced to do anything. She would decide in her own good time when to say her first words - or anything else for that matter.

La fin


End file.
